Letters and Manuscripts — Volume 16 (1901)

Lt 124, 1901

Sanderson, Brother and Sister [A. J.]

St. Helena, California

September, 1901

Portions of this letter are published in 2MR 24-25. +^Note

Dear brother and sister Sanderson,—

We hope and pray that the Lord will let His light shine into the chambers of your mind and into your soul-temple, that you may understand the divine mind so clearly that you will will to do the will of God. I know that if you realized how much more useful your life would be in doing the Lord’s service in His appointed way, you would surrender all to Him. Then you would find rest and peace, comfort and assurance. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 1

The light given me by God about three weeks ago was plain and decided: Help Dr. Sanderson to see himself in the light of the Word of God. The only power that can quicken the heart into activity is the power which will give life to the dead—the Holy Spirit of God. Say to Dr. Sanderson, Hold fast to your only hope—the precious privilege of access to God through Christ. Hang your helpless soul upon your Mediator. In and through Him and Him alone, you can come to God. There is no atoning efficacy apart from the provision made. Human rites and methods are of no avail. Anything but Christ alone is nothingness. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 2

The Holy Spirit is your hope. As you lift the cross of Calvary, it lifts you. Bearing the cross after Jesus, following in His consecrated, self-denying footsteps—only thus can you find salvation. The Word of the living God is your guide and counselor. Jesus Christ is the way into the holy of holies—the way without a screen. The sinner is humbled; the Saviour is exalted as all and in all. This is your refuge. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 3

Nothing that you can present to God is of any value but self crucified to the world. This will deliver you from the snare of the wily foe. Let nothing divert your mind to human devising, human methods, or expedients. Use the means of grace which heaven has provided. Look to Jesus to help you, to bless you. Take not a leaf, pluck no fruit, from the forbidden tree of knowledge. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 4

Prayer is not a penance; it is a petition to the heavenly Father for the wisdom and grace which He alone can give. It is the most sacred privilege that can be bestowed on needy human beings. “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” [Matthew 7:7.] But eat not of the leaves of [the] fruit of the forbidden tree, lest you die. You are living in an age of great knowledge. But much that is called science is opening the way for the wisdom and arts of Satan to be easily introduced. Many do not see this, and exalt false science as the great power of God. This is now your danger. Give no place to the devil in your methods of relieving the sick. Let the sinful, afflicted soul be taught, yes, educated, to look to Christ and live. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 5

Pray for the presence of Christ with you in the sickroom, for you need His presence as the One who alone can relieve suffering humanity. He will speak through you words inspired by the Holy Spirit. The presence of Christ is everything to a physician. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 6

Rejoice evermore. No one but a true Christian is truly happy. God is life and light and joy to the soul. With the sense of an ever-present, abiding Christ, you may rejoice all the day long. You may sing aloud and shout His praises. Your joy in and through Christ Jesus is as the eating of the leaves of the tree of life, which are for the healing of the nations. Rejoice all the day long that you may have the companionship of Christ, assured you by the promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:20.] 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 7

The joy that is fed from inexhaustible springs is constantly breaking forth into more refreshing abundance. When the power of the destroyer presses surely and heavily, trust in Jesus. Looking to Him, you can say as a child of God, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I joy in the God of my salvation.” [Habakkuk 3:17, 18.] 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 8

As a Christian physician you are to be a blessing to the sick by giving them leaves from the tree of life—the promises of God’s Word. Your own heart may be so oppressed that all seems dark and dreary, but look to Jesus constantly. The way will brighten as you think, The blessed presence of Christ is with me in my ministrations for the suffering. I should not be depressed, for Christ has left me the promise, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:20.] Hope and faith take the place of sadness and despair. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It becomes more than a mere expectancy, even an earnest assurance, a hope big with immortality, and full of glory. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 9

My brother, you need to improve the talent of speech, that you may impart comfort to souls physically and spiritually sick. You need soul-consecration. You must make a determined effort to give more of your time to the sick. Speak encouraging words to them. Let them see that you have an interest in them. When your wife is converted and takes up the work of ministry, she can exert an influence for good. The Lord will help her and help you. But you must work in Christ’s lines. The Lord is beginning a good work in your wife, and I am eager of soul that she shall not fail nor be discouraged. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 10

Two or three weeks ago I could not sleep through the night. After my bath, I was thinking, thinking, as I lay down to rest. I had a short nap, and in my sleep I was conversing with One who was giving me directions for you both. The heavenly messenger informed me that I must lift up the hands that hang down and strengthen the feeble knees, that Brother and Sister Sanderson might walk in the straight and narrow path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord, pressing into the kingdom of God. The messenger said, “There are impressions upon Dr. Sanderson’s mind which are not true and healthy. But as his self-esteem grows less, as he humbles his heart before God, he will not be seeking for methods whereby he will be regarded with the highest esteem.” 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 11

Every soul who is hid with Christ in God is clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness. The gift of Christ is the measure of God’s goodness. God so loved the world that He permitted His Son to die for a race of rebels. This is the donation of the heavenly Father. This is the expression of God’s infinite love. He so loved us that He gave His Son to die for us. Christ is not the cause of God’s love for us; He is the expression of God’s love for us. I would have Sister Sanderson understand these expressions. The death of Christ is not only a channel which makes it possible for God’s love to reach her case; it is an evidence that God has loved her from her birth, and that He will love her to the end if she will comply with the laws of His kingdom. Let her, then, respond to this love. 16LtMs, Lt 124, 1901, par. 12